By Kris Polly

Everyone involved in desalination knows that energy costs and brine disposal are among the process’s top challenges. But what if those issues could be solved? That is the promise of OceanWell’s subsea reverse osmosis technology, which uses the natural hydrostatic pressure of the ocean to carry out desalination underwater and discharge heavily diluted brine that poses no risk to aquatic life. OceanWell has entered a public-private partnership with Southern California’s Las Virgenes Municipal Water District to pilot this exciting technology. 

A number of our other stories this month also focus on desalination, reverse osmosis, and membrane technology. First, we speak with Scott Reinert of El Paso Water. The agency runs the largest inland desalination plant in the world—the 27‑million-gallon-per-day Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant—and is now at work on a major water purification plant that will supplement the city’s water supply through direct potable reuse. 

WaterSurplus began as a sales company for surplus water treatment equipment, but it’s since become an advanced technology provider in its own right. It provides everything from rapid-deployment rental equipment to treat urgent per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) issues to its ImpactRO system, which is designed to treat brackish groundwater. 

Next, we speak with Dorie Yontz, the global marketing leader for drinking water and desalination at DuPont Water Solutions, a business unit of Dupont, about the wide range of technologies Dupont provides for desalination, PFAS treatment, and more. 

Then, we talk to Craig Beckman, the CEO of Aqua Membranes, which has created improved reverse osmosis membranes by 3‑D printing ultrathin dots and lines on them to improve flow and filtration. The technology will be distributed in Australia through an agreement with Osmoflo Water Management. 

Last, we interview Patrick Womack, a project coordinator for the City of Phoenix’s Water Services Department, about the agency’s adoption of SewerAI’s AI-powered pipe inspection technology. 

The increasing need for reliable water sources and the growing awareness of PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern means that the advanced technologies outlined in our interviews this month will only become more important. We celebrate the good work that has already been done and look forward to the possibilities these technologies will open as they advance. 

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He can be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.